Woodland Trust
An easy and fun Bonfire Night craft. In autumn you’ll find the most beautiful leaves on the ground. They are perfect for making colourful leafy fireworks. Look for leaves that are different shapes, sizes and colours Get creative make a long tail, lay down layers of different colours, or make a huge circle or star shape! Build a bonfire using sticks and flickering leafy ‘flames’ to go with your fireworks This activity can be done in your garden, park, school grounds, or local wood. Just find a clear patch of ground and start creating!
Crown yourself king or queen of the woods! Find leaves of different shapes, sizes and colours Your crown can be as fancy or as simple as you like Maybe you could create a crown using your favourite leaves? Try making a new crown every time you go to the woods during autumn.
Make a brrrilliant blizzard! Practise with our printable snowflake template, then try snipping out your own designs. You could… Experiment with size. Can you make huge or tiny snowflakes? Use silver paper to create snow that sparkles Use different-shaped hole punches instead of scissors (Remember to check with a grown-up before using scissors – they can help cut out the tricky bits too!) Paper snowflakes make fantastic winter decorations. Hang them on your Christmas tree, stick them to your windows, or string them together to make a snowy garland.
Make your home fantastically festive with these snowmen paper chains. Paper chains are super simple to make, and look great! Grab different coloured paper and use our sheet as a template Ask your grown-up to help you cut the snowmen out Give your snowmen different faces maybe one has a carrot for a nose, and another has a piece of coal Get decorating! Ask your grown-up to hang the snowmen chains around your Christmas tree or in your room.
Build your boat from twigs and sail away. Next time you’re in the woods, create your own pirate galleon or Viking longship. Set sail through the trees Create your ship using what you find on the forest floor Keep your eyes peeled for buried treasure Make your own treasure map, and sail through the woods to where X marks the spot.
How many of these mammals can you spot? Some of these animals might be tricky to find, but they all live in the UK. If you’re lucky, you might spot one, but remember to keep your eyes peeled for other signs like footprints, fur and poo! Some of these mammals are nocturnal, which means they only come out at night Many mammals live a lot closer to you than you think foxes and squirrels sometimes make their homes in towns and cities as well as the countryside Which mammal is your favourite?
Create a castle fit for a moley king or queen. Look out for molehills when you’re playing outside, and get building. Find lots of different natural items like leaves and twigs to decorate the castle Don’t forget to create a moat and drawbridge Be as imaginative as you like try making turrets and flags too Molehills are made when moles push the earth out from their underground tunnels.
Get your hands dirty and make muddy creatures. We love squelchy, sticky, gloopy mud! Grab a handful and get sculpting. There’s no limit to what you can create let your imagination run wild Make mud monsters and animals the wackier the better Use whatever you can find to add eyes, ears, a mouth even wings to your creation What type of creatures will you magic up from the mud?
Can you match the seeds to the trees? You’ll see loads of seeds during autumn. Play our game and match them to their trees and leaves. How many did you get right? How many of these seeds can you spot while you’re out and about? Did you find any other seeds in the woods? Try collecting the seeds you find and match them to those in the game.
Spot these tracks on your travels – do you know which animal they belong to? Be a real Nature Detective! Keep your eyes peeled for prints while you’re out and about Look out for footprints in soft ground It’s best to spot tracks in snow or after a rain shower Have you spotted any other tracks? Where did you find them
Join the dots and find the mystery picture Grab your favourite pencil get puzzling. When you’ve finished, check out the mystery picture! Are you up to the challenge? Make sure you join dots of the same colour, and follow the numbers! Do you know which tree or plant the leaves and seeds have come from? How quickly can you discover the answer to the puzzle? If you’ve puzzled out the mega match-up, have a go at one of our other puzzles or games.
Can you find all the birds in the grid? From swifts and swallows to cuckoos and ospreys, many birds migrate to the UK for the summer. It’s a good place to raise chicks because there’s lots of natural food around. Download the wordsearch and see how many migratory birds you can find.
Use this spotter sheet to help you identify flying insects. Look to the skies and see how many of these winged minibeasts you can see. Some insects buzz, some flutter and some hover how many of each can you find? Look in different habitats like woods, meadows and by rivers and ponds Can you spot any insects resting on leaves in the sunshine? Be careful when hunting minibeasts they can be delicate, so if you pick one up to get a closer look, be gentle.
Follow minibeasts and see where they go! Keep your eyes peeled for minibeasts buzzing among the flowers and scuttling through the undergrowth. Where do they go? Follow bees, butterflies and ants Do the minibeasts go anywhere you didn’t expect? Try and find out how many flowers a bee visits before it buzzes off for home How long can you follow a minibeast before you lose sight of it?
Build a den for your toys so they can join in the fun! Get creative with sticks, leaves and other natural bits and bobs, and make a mini woodland hideaway. Make sure you build your den in a sheltered spot, so it’s away from the wind Will your den be tall or small? Which sticks are best for the walls? Experiment with grass and fallen leaves which makes the comfiest floor? Little brothers and sisters will love helping you with this activity, so try making enough dens for everyone.
Make your own mini woodland using bits and bobs from the forest floor. Ever wondered what it would be like to be a giant wandering through the woods? Well now’s your chance! All you need is a flat, smooth patch of ground, and then you can get creative! What will you use for trees, bushes and ponds? Think about their shape, colour and texture Do any animals or magical creatures live in your wood? What are they? Your woodland can be as big or as tiny as you like all you need is your imagination and a few bits and pieces!
When you’re off adventuring, use this spotter sheet to hunt for minibeasts. There’s no better time to head out on a marvellous minibeast hunt! Look for creepy crawlies under logs and stones Spot insects in the air Do they come out in the sunshine or after rain? Be a real Nature Detective! Next time you go to the woods or play in your garden, try and find these minibeasts. Where do they like to hide? How many did you discover?
Design and build your own minibeast mansion! All animals need somewhere to sleep and to hide from predators, and minibeasts are no different. Think about what might want to live in your mansion some minibeasts prefer dark, damp places and others like bright sunshine Gather sticks, moss, leaves, bark and other woodland items together Get building! Make sure there are lots of places for the creatures to hide Your mansion can be as big or small as you like, but build it on different levels using different materials so the minibeasts have lots of places to hide.
Create a home for creepy crawlies Find a sheltered spot and build a marvellous minibeast palace. Use twigs, leaves and grass to make it cosy Different minibeasts like different places to hide twig towers are great Minibeasts will hibernate, munch through and lay their eggs in the palace Next time you go to the woods, check to see if any creepy crawlies have moved in!
Can you find the creepy crawlies hiding in the tree canopy? You’ll need your best detective skills for this activity! Download the colourful puzzle sheet and see if you can find all 10 minibeasts hiding among the leaves. Think you’ve found them all? Check your answers. When you’ve finished, head outside and look at a real tree. What can you spot crawling over bark and lurking underneath leaves?
Find and identify these moth caterpillars. Moths start life as caterpillars. Take this ID sheet with you next time you’re out and about, and see how many moth caterpillars you can find. Some moth caterpillars are covered in hairs, but others are smooth As they grow, caterpillars go through different stages called instars Caterpillars are fussy eaters they’ll only munch on their favourite plants Don’t touch the caterpillars you find. They re very delicate and their hairs can make your skin itch.
Follow Nadiya Hussain’s recipe and create these festive treats! Nadiya Hussain, star of the Great British Bake Off, has shared one of her favourite festive recipes with us her ginger fir tree biscuits! Download the recipe and get stuck in they re really simple to make and super tasty. Her book, Bake Me A Festive Story (Hodder Children’s Books), is filled with loads more scrummy Christmassy recipes ready for you to try. So grab your ingredients, pull on your pinny and get baking!
Collect colourful treasures and make a bangle. Try this creative craft on a trip to the woods. It’s a brilliant way to explore autumn’s bright colours and exciting textures, but you can do it at any time of year. Fasten a strip of card around your wrist. Add some double-sided sticky tape. Explore the forest floor and look for interesting items to add to your bracelet. This is a great way to encourage youngsters to look closer at the natural world. What does each item look like? How does it fell? Does it smell?
How many moths can you identify? Look out for different types of moth fluttering through the twilight and use this sheet to ID them. Some moths like the poplar hawk-moth have a wing span of up to 9cm! Lots of moths come to light, while you’ll find others sipping nectar from flowers Make your own sugar solution and tempt moths to visit your garden
Head into the twilight and hunt for nocturnal animals. Grab your torch and head outside at night to see how many different animals you can spot. Listen carefully can you hear anything snuffling through the undergrowth? How many different creatures can you see? Don’t forget to look out for minibeasts! Lots of animals come out at night, so keep your eyes peeled!